The present Club was formed in April 1964 when it was part of the West Hill Boys Club. In December 1966 it was decided that athletics in the town would be better served by renaming the group as Hastings Athletic Club. The Club started the Hastings New Zealand Namesake Trophy meeting, which was the first Club meeting held on the newly opened track at William Parker School, and this was promoted by the Club until 1996 when the pressure of league and other competitions forced its end. In March 1969 the Boxley Trophy Road Race, using a 6 mile course, was run in Alexandra Park. In 1970 a Youth/Boys race was started and in 1971 a Colts 2 mile race was introduced. In July 1969 the Club staged a Ladies open meeting to encourage the ladies section to improve on their previous seasons best performances. In the same year Hastings AC joined the Division 4(SE) of the Southern League and, by coincidence, metric distances were also introduced on the track in this year. Club History Next >>>